I’ll be home for Christmas … if only in my dreams (?)

Not the Christmas carol lyrics I most want to hear right now.

But, all I have is question marks, at least for the moment. As I type, I should be sitting on board my British Airways flight BA11, flying high and far away from a freezing night in London, feeling sentimental as my eight week, exciting, indescribable adventure around the world draws to a beautiful close. Knowing me, i’d probably be journalling right about now… shoes already kicked off, cross-legged on the aeroplane seat, journal out and pen madly scrawling, attempting to write something deep and profound that could summarise the past eight weeks… finding a way to package up the whole experience neatly and elegantly in one spectacular literary masterpiece, wrapped in brown paper with a pretty polka dot ribbon.

Instead, I am sprawled across my hotel bed, propped up by marshmallow pillows, in a gorgeous Kensington hotel room overlooking a snow covered Hyde Park… a real winter wonderland. Shoes are off and my journal is out…but i’m very much grounded, pretty grumpy, not that inspired to write profound stuff, and certainly not getting any closer to home. Thanks, snow.

I realise that in many ways, I am really lucky. I am not one of thousands of stranded passengers currently camping out on Heathrow airport floors under aluminium sheeting, awaiting news on a departing flight…with no where else to go. For that, I am thankful. For comprehensive travel insurance, which will eventually reimburse me for tonight’s (and possibly, beyond tonight’s) hotel room, I am also thankful. But mostly, I feel sad. I am miserable and homesick and want nothing more than to be flying home to Adelaide. Like, right now.

And so, just for the moment, the allure and magic and joy of travel has lost its shine. Positive, happy, optimistic Me will return soon (there’s Hyde Park to see! More time to explore London!) but just for a little while, i’m giving myself permission to have some ‘Hippo Time’ (that is, wallowing and generally achieving nothing). Just for a little while.

So, for now, I await news… on a flight, any flight, that will get me home and back into the arms of people I love, hopefully by Christmas.

Wait and wallow.

With love from the Hippo xxx